House system

The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the English-speaking world, particularly in Commonwealth countries, originating in England. The school is divided into subunits called 'houses' and each student is allocated to one house at the moment of enrollment. Houses may compete with one another at sports and maybe in other ways, thus providing a focus for group loyalty.

Different schools will have different numbers of houses: some might have more than 10 houses (with as few as 50 students in each house) or as few as four or fewer (with as many as 200 students in each). In some cases, individual houses can be even larger, as in McCracken County High School in the U.S. state of Kentucky, whose five houses have nearly 400 students each. Facilities, such as pastoral care, may be provided on a house basis to a greater or lesser extent depending on the type of school. Historically, the house system was associated with established public schools in England, especially full boarding schools, where a 'house' referred to a boarding house at the school. In modern times, in both day and boarding schools, the word 'house' may refer only to a grouping of pupils, rather than to a particular building.